Joe Wise, 15, of Menlo Park has returned from Beijing after finishing fifth in the 400-meter freestyle at the Paralympics. Wise, a sophomore at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton, also broke his own U.S. record with a time of 4:15.83, almost 10 seconds better than his former best.
“I didn’t think I would get that place and go that fast, so I’m extremely happy with that,” said Wise, who represented the United States in the Paralympics, held in September in the same venues and immediately following the Olympics.
Before he could compete in the finals, he qualified by placing second in his heat.
In April, Wise had qualified for the Paralympic team when he won a gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle at U.S. swim trials, held in Minneapolis. At the trials, Wise set the then-U.S. record with a time of 4:24.92.
His condition is mitochondrial myopathy, a form of muscular dystrophy. He competes in the S10 classification for the Paralympics, which is the least disabled classification.
For the Paralympics, Wise got to compete and live in the same facilities as the Olympic athletes, including swimming in the famous “Water Cube” National Aquatics Center in Beijing.
“Beijing kept the (Olympic) Village the same way. They didn’t change anything from the Olympics. It was awesome,” said Wise.
After swimming for the varsity team at Sacred Heart this year, Wise said he hopes to qualify to compete in the International Paralympic Committee’s 25-meter swimming world championships in Rio de Janeiro next August.
He also hopes to compete in the Paralympics again at the 2012 Games in London and the 2016 Games “and then call it quits.”
“I’ll try to get a gold medal,” he added.
If Wise’s career is anything like that of a fellow swimmer who was 15 at the time of his first Olympics, he seems destined for many gold medals.
Michael Phelps finished fifth at his first Olympics too.
